


Blue.

by elijahking (orphan_account)



Series: Merciless [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Death, Depression, PTSD, Trust Issues, suicide implication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-26 12:32:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5004916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/elijahking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans is left with a heavy heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Promises

**Author's Note:**

> multi-chapter angst thing. more later today, probably. it will get worse as it goes.

"YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK."

*bro, that do...

"JUST WATCH AND LEARN, BROTHER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SURELY SHOW THIS HUMAN WHAT-FOR!"

*papyrus, there's no one there.

"OKAY, MAYBE THERE ISN'T, BUT WE CAN PRETEND ON THIS DUMMY, RIGHT?"

Sans sighed, rubbing his eyesockets with his fingers. They've been sentries in this forest for god knows how long, waiting, watching, practicing. But no one came.

*i guess, do whatever you want. i'm gonna go back to the door.

"AND WHAT, NAP? YOU'LL NEVER BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD LIKE THAT!"

*didn't plan on it.

He turned and started shuffling his way through the snow. Papyrus turned his attention back to the dummy, throwing various bone attacks at it. It's not that Sans was too lazy to practice, he just didn't care. He was more than well prepared if any human came through the door. Sans made his way there in an instant, teleporting. He briefly wondered if he would use it for anything other than working his stations and the hot dog stand. 

He looked up at the towering, deep magenta door, raising a fist to knock on it. _Knock, knock._

"Who is there?" The familiar voice came through. He grinned. His only entertainment in the snowy wasteland.

*arfur.

"Arfur who?"

*arfur-got!

He slapped his knee, chuckling at his own joke.

"...Heh... good one." Normally, she'd be howling with laughter. Something was off.

*...hey, lady, is something wrong? ya don't sound too good.

"It is..." She sniffled. "Just... Please, if a human ever comes through here, do not hurt them. Take care of them, please. I'm-" She was caught off by the sound of her own sobbing. "I'm begging you..."

*woah... uh... yeah, no, no problem. 

"Th-thank you," she hiccuped. "I must go now... thank you for the joke." 

Sans was bewildered. What in the world had gotten into his joke buddy? He felt himself tremble a bit. Did this mean that a human was in the ruins? Did this mean that there was a chance of them all escaping? To finally be... free? Normally... he wouldn't make those kinds of promises. But for her, he'd do it. He'd protect anything that came through that door.


	2. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is left with a heavy heart.

Sans heard a noise that he never thought he would. A rumbling, creaking groan, echoing throughout the forest, waking the birds and scaring young kits away.

The door to the ruins had been opened. He peered through the trees, taking his first look at the human. Oh, good, he thought. They're young. Straight, short brown hair, and a face that seemed unimpressed at the new surroundings. The human closed the door behind them and began through the snow. He followed behind. He'd protect them, sure, but he still had his suspicions. Something about the human seemed... off. Especially the way they were holding that toy knife, and how their hands seemed dusty.

The human stopped to look at a branch that had fallen, trying to pick it up. No use; it was to heavy for them. They made an unsatisfactory grunt and continued on. Sans had a wonderful idea: _let's freak them out._

With a snap of his fingers, the branch broke. The human spun around, eyeing the area suspiciously. They found nothing, and continued. Sans thought it was weird how they were unaffected by the cold, the snow, and moreso, the branch. Any other person, human or not, would be shaking in their boots. Sans amped it up a bit, following them a bit closer, making obvious noises in the snow. Come on, get scared. Show me that you have emotions. Anything, anything, he pleaded in his head. The human reached the gate over the bridge and stopped. 

Sans crept forward, snow crunching under his slippers. With a bellowing, haunting voice, he called out: **H U M A N.** He stood behind them. **D O N ' T Y O U K N O W H O W T O G R E E T A N E W P A L ? T U R N A R O U N D A N D S H A K E M Y H A N D.**

The human stiffly turned. Sans stook out a hand, half-covering the secret inside. The human grabbed it, and...

_Pppppprrrrrrrrrrssstththhhhbbbbbb!_

*heheheh... the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny.

They looked unamused.

*that's, uh. your cue to laugh. or, uh, to emote at all...?

Sans winked, hoping to get anything out of them.

_*gee, lady, you really know how to pick 'em, huh...?_ he wondered aloud. *OK, that's fine, everyone's go their own sense of humor. 

He continued to introduce himself, to a very unenthused human. Sans started to get a bad feeling in his bones. He pushed the human forward, hoping they'd play along. They didn't.

*well, i'll be straight-forward with you. my brother'd really like to see a human... so, y'know, it'd really help me out... if you kept pretending to be one.

The human made a vague grunt and made their way forward again. Sans glowered in their direction.

*...what are you?...

****

A frozen wind howled through Snowdin. Of course. Of course Papyrus would say something like that. "I still believe in you!" Sans laughed, tearing up. At his feet sat a pile of dust. He sank to his knees, feeling hollow. 

*...kid... you...

He grasped at the dust, little grains flying away in the wind. 

He tremored with rage. He's gone. Papyrus is gone. Sans repeated this to himself over and over, sifting through the dust to find any trace of his brother. A bone. His scarf. Anything. But he couldn't. He would have to plan a funeral, but what would be the point? That... whatever that thing was, they were going to kill everyone. 

Sans gathered the dust into his arms, as much as he could carry, and took it to his home. There, he dumped it on Papyrus' racecar bed, knowing that he'd never sleep on it again. Knowing he'd never read another magazine about cars on it again. Knowing he would never make pretend conversations between his action figures. Knowing that he was gone, and it was that... humans fault.

He couldn't afford to not care anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it might not be obvious, but i am going through a lot of stuff right now.


	3. Encore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahAHAHAHA i'm running on three mountain dews and approximately 4 hours of sleep and i have work at midnight. friendly reminder it takes exactly zero dollars to stab me in the face  
> uhh this is super long??? sorry i got in way too deep ahaha. also the ending has a weird transition please forgive me

Sans woke with a start, gasping and sweating. A familiar voice barged its way through the house.

"SANS, YOU LAZYBONES! JUST HOW LONG DO YOU PLAN ON SLEEPING?!"

 _No,_ he thought, scrambling out of bed. He frantically searched through his drawers for a calendar. He found one and flipped it open. _No, no no no,_ if he had a heart, it'd be pounding out of his chest.

He knew about SAVEs, restarts, timelines, everything in the multiverse. He didn't have the ability to take control of them, and he didn't want it, because the last time someone tried to reset, his fa- Gaster disappeared. 

"SANS, ARE YOU EVER GOING TO WAKE UP?!" A fist pounded at his bedroom door, making him jump. "WE HAVE TRAINING TO DO TODAY!"

*...you're supposed to be dead.

Sans shuddered, feeling himself on the verge of tears. He composed himself quickly before Papyrus slammed the door open and intruded. "OH GOOD, YOU ARE AWAKE, WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER?!"

*sorry bro, i guess i'm just a little out of it today.

"YOU'RE OUT OF IT EVERY DAY. NOW COME ON, LET'S GET GOING!" Papyrus turned to exit, but Sans grabbed his elbow.

*uhh, wait, bro, um. i got, uh, a bad feeling about this.

"EXCUSES, EXCUSES. COME ON, NOW. LET'S GO!"

Sans really had no choice. He was going to protect his brother.

*

The human had the same look on their face again. _Sick freak probably takes enjoyment out of this,_ thought Sans, running through the same scenario as before. The promise. The handshake. The human walking past puzzles without even looking at them. And, covered in dust, they crossed the bridge right before the village of Snowdin. Sans held out a hand to stop them.

*hey. seems like you're gonna fight my brother pretty soon. here's some friendly advice. if you keep going the way you are now...

His voice dropped from its usual to that akin to a low, howling wind.

*you're gonna have a bad time.

In the moment that the human blinked back in disturbance (finally, a reaction of some sort), Sans vanished, far into the deep woods of Snowdin forest. 

*

But he wished he hadn't. God, why even... why even bother? 

*you're just doing this to fuck with me, aren't you kid?

For his brother? Why should he pretend for him?

He kicked at his brother's dust. *reset, damn you. reset. 

The wind picked up the dust, shifting some of it into the river. 

*reset. reset. god fucking damn it, reset. i know you can. i... i...i'll fucking kill you. i'll kill you on sight. 

The whites of his eyes went, being replaced by blue fiery wisps. He shot a blast of the sapphire magic at the pile of dust, hurling it all into the water. He cackled. It wasn't funny.

*

Everyone was gone. Everyone. His brother. Undyne. Even that stupid robot, Mettaton. Dr. Alphys fled somewhere, too, but he didn't know where. Sans shuffled through an assortment of papers, with messy notes scrawled in the margins. It was hard to make out Gaster's handwriting sometimes, but he made do. It all perfectly added up. Every experiment led to the same conclusion: monsters cannot SAVE. They cannot reset. 

Gaster had experienced the time of Chara. The first human to fall. Chara seemed, at first, to be a wonderful child. But then things got a little weird. 

"Entry four. I found another anomaly today. Deja-vu, almost. I remembered that I had done something already, but when I got to it, it was unfinished. This isn't the first time this has happened."

"Entry five. The human child is beginning to predict things. Some are hailing them as a prophet. I think it's a load of [unintelligible]."

"Entry six. The king and queen have not noticed. It seems the prince is indulging in the human's resets. I don't like where this is going."

"Entry eight. Timelines are jumping all over the place. One day, it will be several months ago, and then the next, it will be several months ahead. I can't trust to look at clocks anymore. I've broken the few left in the lab."

"Entry nine. The boys seem to be unaffected and unaware. Well, P, at least. S has his suspicions, too. Good thing they'll be too young to remember this."

"EnTrY tWelVe: We HaVe ReAcHeD a StRaNgE sPoT iN oUr ReSeArCh. By ExTrAcTiNg CeRtAiN eLeMeNtS oF tHe HuMaN's SOUL, wE cAn pArTiAlLy ReCrEaTe ThE SAVE eFfEcT. wE hAvE cHoSeN tHe SuBjEcTs."

"ENtRY tHIrTEeN: SUbJEcTS aRE rEAcTInG StRAnGE tO ThESe LIgHT pARtIClES. mOViNG wORk INtO ThE CoRE."

"ENTRY FOURTEEN. I HAVE BEGUN EXPERIMENTATION ON THE EFFECTS OF RESETTING. THE SUBJECTS REACT STRANGELY TO LIGHT, AND THE CORE SEEMS TO BE THE BEST PLACE TO KEEP THEM IN THE DARK, SO TO SPEAK. I THINK S'S PUNS HAVE RUBBED OFF ON ME. I'LL ASK A SUBJECT TO GO BACK TO A TIME THEY REMEMBER AFTER ENTERING THE CORE, AND WHEN WE ALL WAKE UP, IT'S THAT TIME. I RECORD MEMORIES."

"ENTRY FIFTEEN. WE KEEP MOVING LOWER IN THE CORE. EXTREMELY LIGHT SENSITIVE. I WISH TO ASK THE HUMAN A QUESTION ABOUT SAVES AND RESETTING."

"ENTRY SIXTEEN. ITS TOO DARK TO WRITE. THE HUMAN LAUGHED AT MY QUESTION. AND THEN THEY RESET TO BEFORE I EVEN ASKED. I DID NOT FORGET."

"ENTRY SEVENTEEN. DARK DARKER YET DARKER THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING THE SHADOWS CUTTING DEEPER PHOTON READINGS NEGATIVE THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT SEEMS VERY VERY INTERESTING

WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK?"

Sans' breath stuttered. That last entry always got him, like it was a note left for him, or maybe for someone Gaster was working with. He hated and loved going over Gaster's notes to compare to his and Alphys'. From what he could tell, only humans could truly SAVE and reset. There had been quite a bit of time between when Gaster... disappeared, Chara dying, the other humans who fell, and then this child. Alphys could contribute little, due to her current studies on SOULs. He looked to the machine, to the notes and blueprints, and back. 

Then he crumpled up the notes and tossed them aside, because none of it really mattered. The human would just reset and do whatever the hell they liked. Who cares.


	4. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ready yourself for war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to split this into two parts, because it was originally gonna be a lot longer, but i don't want it to ramble on and on. next chapter will be posted later on tonight. also, there will be a third "part" to this series, which is referenced to in this chapter. Can you find out what it is?  
> ALSO FOR CLARIFICATION I KNOW I SAID IN THE LAST CHAPTER THAT EVERYONE WAS GONE BUT TIMELINES. RESETS. JUST. WORK WITH ME

There isn’t anything like the feeling of doing nothing. After all, Sans loved doing nothing. It was his favorite activity. 

But he had done more than enough nothing. Observing, exchanging data with Alphys, when he could and she wasn't gone, and becoming suddenly misplaced as the human reset to an earlier time. He figured out the pattern. If there was one slipup, one mishap, they’d throw a fit and purposely – this part really got him cringing – they would _purposefully_ harm themselves in a tantrum. And when they finally calmed down, well. Sans didn’t want to really think about how they reset on their own. 

And at points, he’d notice something… odd in the corner of his eye. Something very out of place. He could have sworn it was a golden flower, just like the ones in Asgore’s garden. But that was the only place he’d ever seen them, aside from Alphys’ lab. 

Regardless of these abnormal circumstances, Sans needed to prepare. There was no stopping this human, if you could even call them that. There was no calling them a monster, because, well, monsters were better than that. They were… a true demon. The most vile of spirits to ever cross the underground. As if the war hadn’t done enough damage to monsterkind. Now? Now it seemed like they wanted to come down here and kill monsters. He understood self-defense. Being thrown into situations one didn’t ask for. But this was ruthless, cold-blooded murder.

There was no real need to train. Papyrus… despite his training, he never wanted to hurt anyone. But Sans knew how to aim to kill. To make his movements unpredictable. He just needed… one… thing. And that involved Alphys. He tightened the grip on the folded up blueprints in his pocket and teleported to her lab. She sat at her computer desk, legs dangling, looking morose.

“We’re going to go extinct,” she said quietly.

*eh, not if i can stop ‘em. here, doc, i brought it.

He stretched out an arm, handing her the blueprints. After she unfolded them, her eyes widened. She spun in her chair, exuberant.

“Sans, these- how did- oh my god!!” She snorted, giggling. “I thought these were lost forever in the Core!”

*you’d be surprised what you can find in the trash. do ya like the name?

“Like it?! I LOVE IT!!” She clutched the blueprints to her chest. “Sans, with these, we can… you can save all of monster kind!!”

*i know. but i can’t do it without you. and they’re getting close.

Alphys eyed the monitor mounted on her wall nervously. Already, the human was making its way through Hotland and into the Core.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got Mettaton stalling for time. I’ll get this done before you can say, Mew Mew Kissy Cutie!”

*and you know i’d never say that.

“Exactly!”

*

It was… incredible. *but why is there only one?

“I configured it so you can attune your magic and thoughts to it. It basically can do whatever you want. Replicate, enlarge, whatever! Though,” she shrugged, “it only fires in a straight direction.”

*that’s… perfectly fine. Alphys… thank you. i mean it. i uh, can’t express my gratitude enough.

“No need to thank me. I… I did it for them, y’know?” A short moment of silence. “B-But, I know you can do it. So please, just… kill them. Wipe them off the face of every timeline you possibly can. And then some.” She lifted the weapon up, and it floated out of her hands over to Sans. It hovered beside him for a moment, staring at him through unblinking eyes, and then vanished.

*wish me luck.

“I don’t need to.”

That would be the last timeline he'd see her in.


	5. Reprise, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The same old song and dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter's for you, treewhisker. *blows a kiss*  
> subtitle for this chapter: in which sans brutally murders a child.  
> subtitle for the subtitle for this chapter: in which the author gets really mad at himself for going through a no mercy run just to get dialogue when he could have just freakin looked it up online (spoilers: he ended up looking up the transcript online)

The sound of approaching footsteps echoed throughout the twilit chamber. They seemed to drag in a monotonous shuffle. Left. Right. Left. Right. Damn, the kid can't be _that_ bored with this, can they?

Exactly halfway down, Sans made his entrance. The child stopped, unsurprised at his appearance.

*heya. you've been busy, huh?

They glanced to the side, looking miffed.

*so, i've got a question for ya. do you think even the worst person can change...? that everybody can be a good person, if they try?

They took a single step forward, raising a bloodied knife. Everything, from their hair to their boots, had a layer of dust on it. "Shut up."

*heh heh heh heh... all right. well, here's a better question. do you wanna have a bad time?

A flicker of recognition crossed their eyes before dropping back off into their cold stare.

*'cause if you take another step forward... you are REALLY not gonna like what happens next.

Another step. Their wrist flicked back and forth, anxious.

*welp. sorry, old lady. this is why i never make promises.

He took a deep breath, tasting the pollen in the air. *it's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing, flowers are blooming... on days like these, kids like you...

**SHOULD BURN IN HELL.**

Sans merely blinked and took full gravitational control over the little devil, raising them up into the air for a split second and then sending them crashing into the ground. Bones speared up through the ground, and jump as they might, they still left nasty gashes on their arms and legs. Then came the waves. Sans snapped a finger, letting his magical grip on them go, and then sent the bones forth. They barely dodged the barrage of crashes. They trembled, standing shakily and collapsing once again. They were bleeding out too fast to do much of anything. Sans summoned forth four of his now most prized possessions. They circled the human, and in a flash of blinding white light, Sans heard the human's soul crack in two. These Gaster Blasters would come in handy, he smirked, vanishing them away.

It took approximately ten seconds for them to reset. Sans cracked his neck. Time for the same old song and dance. He would be here a while.

*heya.

They snarled.

*you look frustrated about something. guess i'm pretty good at my job, huh?

Lather, rinse repeat. Sans was surprised that they were able to dodge the first round of attacks this time, but they were barely hanging on by a thread. 

*huh. always wondered why people never used their strongest attacks first.

"Predictable," they spat, lunging forward. Sans stepped to the side.

*what, you think i'm just gonna stand there and take it?

Wave after wave, jump after jump. How the hell was this kid resisting his magic? They shoved a sandwich into their mouths, swinging their knife around haphazardly.

*anyway. as i was saying,

Sans stepped aside,

*it's a nice day outside. why not relax and take a load off?

"Nngh." They rolled away from the next attack. Their fighting arm was nearly torn straight off. They trembled, eyes hinting at... fear. Good, Sans thought. They can feel their sins crawling on their back. They tossed the knife into their other hand. But they couldn't even survive the next two seconds.

Again. They stabbed at the empty air where Sans stood.

*our reports showed a massive anomaly in the timespace continuum. timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting...

They panted, barely scraping by. Shots from the blasters came at them from every angle, nearly tearing them asunder. Still, they persisted.

*until suddenly, everything ends.

A scream rang out from their lungs before being cut short with a quick stab through the torso with another pointed bone. Sans was already sick of this. He stared out the window, sighing, wishing, praying, that they wouldn't come back. But speak of the devil and he shall appear, right? With another swipe, the child barely missed his face. He continued.

*heh heh heh. that's your fault, isn't it?

They spun out of the way of a falling column. Sans was resorting to using everything, if he had to. 

*you can't understand how this feels! knowing that one day, without _any_ warning -

A blaster rammed into the child -

*it's all going to be reset! 

-and knocked them back against the wall. He shot spear-headed bones at them, not to kill, but to keep them in place. He shivered with a chuckle, tears forming in his eyes.

*look. i gave up trying to go back a long time ago.

He knew the consequences.

*and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal, either.

They thrashed wildly, trying to break free of the prison.

*'cause even if we do... we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right?... but not me. 

A blaster hovered menacingly close to their face. They stared it down with no fear.

*you see, uh, i remember. much like my father before me, i have a gift for remembering. now my brother, you know, the one you _killed_ , he, uh, was not as gifted as myself. but man, did he ever have a talent for making new things. like this attack.

He wrenched the child out of the prison, sending them flying across the hall into a pile of rubble.

*you know, the one you never got to see? because, unlike myself, Papyrus would have never hurt you. and time and time again, he let you go. he spared you because he believed you could be a better fucking person than that.

The child struggled to sit up.

*to be blunt, it kinda makes it hard for me to give it my all.

He once again released his grip. 

*...or is that just a poor excuse for being lazy? hell if i know.

The child seemed to be blinking back tears. Their grip on the weapon loosened. Half of them wanted to get up, to keep fighting, the other half? They just wanted to give up.

*all i know is... seeing what comes next? i can't afford to not care anymore.

The malicious half won. They shot up and screamed towards him, slashing fruitlessly.

*ugh...

Sans realized how out of shape he was.

*...that being said, you, uh, really like swinging that thing around. huh?

He could see the cracks beginning to form.

*listen. i know you didn't answer me before, but... somewhere in there. i can feel it. there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been... a friend?

They were breaking. Time to bullshit this bitch.

*c'mon, buddy. do you remember me? please, if you're listening... let's forget all this, ok? just lay down your weapon, and... well, my job will be a lot easier.

A new look took over their face. Something lively, something... real. A new color. The ting of the knife hitting the ground echoed, and the child turned to Sans with tears in their eyes. Full of regret. Sans stretched out his arms in a welcoming fashion. They started to run towards him, towards the embrace, but in the heart-shattering moment, Sans betrayed that innocence. He shot up a barrier of unavoidable spears, and the child fell. He hovered over the wheezing body, watching the light go out of its eyes.

*...if you really are my friend.... don't come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you just got dunked on  
> post script: i almost wrote for the subtitle "in which asriel brutally murders a child" but that would make it confusing. maybe i should stop sharing a name with a character from the game.


	6. Reprise, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A thousand hands are reaching out, A choir of voices to shake me down, A broken conscience, Won't you let me please forget?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> game dialogue slightly changed

He nudged the body with a cautious foot. No, yeah. Kid's dead. A sense of relief washed over him, but he tried not to get too relaxed. There were probably hundreds of other timelines where he was failing to stop them. He considered closing their eyes, but.. no. He wanted them to see all the things that they had done. 

On that thought, Sans went to the throne room. The king, Asgore Dreemurr, was staring forlornly out a window.

*i have it.

"...That's..." He put on a pained smile. "Wonderful. Now, we can all be... free."

A rough sensation tugged at Sans. Before he could even get the thought across his head, he was already standing again in the hallway. He turned. And there they were, looking more determined than ever.

*you're givin' me a real workout, kid. welp, i guess it was worth a shot. guess you like doing things the hard way, huh?

They gave a weak glare, chewing on their tongue.

*you know... that look on your face. that's the look of someone who's died quice in a row. quice? frice? welp, won't have to use it again anyways.

"Pretty sure it's just four times," they sneered. 

*oh. oh well. anyway,* he called forth about twenty blasters. *it's a nice day out.

Shit, was that kid fast. Something in them was broken beyond repair. Whatever side of them they had shown was dead and gone now. No mercy. They were swiping at Sans so quickly he could hardly keep up. He surrounded them with the bone attacks. 

*sounds strange, but before all this, i was secretly hoping we could be friends.* They stopped a bone from thwacking against their head by blocking it with their arm. An audible crack resonated as the blow broke their wrist. *i always thought the anomaly was doing this cause they were unhappy. and when they got what they wanted, they would stop all this.

"...Anomaly?!" A spark of curiosity flared in their eyes. Sans took this opportunity of distraction to sweep a bone under their legs, knocking them down. He raised a pointed spear over their heads and sent it crashing down, but they rolled to one side.

*and maybe all they needed was... i dunno. some good food, some bad laughs, some nice friends.* Beads of sweat started dripping down his face. Or tears. He couldn't really tell. *but that's ridiculous, right?

The human hissed and jumped for him. He ducked low enough for them to fly into the open mouth of a blaster behind him.

*yeah. you're the type of person who won't EVER be happy.* The blaster spat the child out, who lept to their feet and aimed an attack at it instead of Sans. The blaster vanished before they could even touch it. *you'll keep consuming timelines over and over until. well. hey. take it from me, kid. someday... you gotta learn when to QUIT.

They turned and charged, screaming out. Sans knocked their outreached hand aside, grabbing and twisting it until he could hear the snap of it breaking, too. The child cried out again, snarling and almost foaming at the mouth in rage.

*and that day is today.* He was leaning in close, whispering to them now. *'cause, y'see... all this fighting is really tiring me out. 

The knife finally clattered to the ground. The familiar ting rang in the air. *and if you keep pushing me... then i'll be forced to use my special attack.

He finally pushed them off, throwing them onto the ground. They rolled themselves onto their back. Oh, their nose had broken, too. Blood was flowing out of it like a river. Fucker deserves it, Sans thought. They couldn't push themselves up, so instead, they raised their legs into the air, and with a heavy grunt, lept to their feet again. Their arms dangled uselessly by their sides. They shook, looking terrified but still merciless. 

"Special attack, huh?" They giggled.

*yeah. my special attack. sounds familiar?

"Heehee. I think all of your attacks are special, Sans. You've almost beat me." The sound of his name from them was like acid down his spine.

*how sweet. well, get ready, because after the next move, i'm going to use it. so, if you don't wanna see it, now would be a good time to die.

"How thoughtful of you." They limbered forward, attempting in vain to kick him. He sniggered.

*well, here goes nothing... are you ready? survive this, and I'll show you my [Special Attack]!

They died the instant that first blaster hit their chest. Sans felt a chill run through his entire body. Five times. Five entire deaths, and this kid was not going to give up. They were just going to reset until Sans tired so much that he'd end up failing to kill them. His bones shook with maniacal sobs. There is no escape. There is only death.

He felt the tugging of another timeline.

*...here we go again.* He closed his eyes.

 

 

 

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"SANS, YOU LAZYBONES! JUST HOW LONG DO YOU PLAN ON SLEEPING?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only one more chapter of The Armored Heart, and then Neutralization will be in the works! Stay tuned!


End file.
